The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar has redesigned its archaeology department. The contemporary presentation of archaeological artifacts can serve as a model for other, comparable museums The presentation of evidence from early periods of human history is a delicate task. In many museums, this department is all too often seen by visitors as a quick passage to later epochs, […]

The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar has redesigned its archaeology department. The contemporary presentation of archaeological artifacts can serve as a model for other comparable museums

The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar has redesigned its archaeology department. The contemporary presentation of archaeological artifacts can serve as a model for other comparable museums

Communicating the evidence of early periods of human history is a delicate task. In many museums, this section is all too often seen by visitors as a quick passage to later eras, especially when no spectacular highlights such as gold treasures, bog bodies or princely tombs are to be expected. At the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, an attempt has now been made to present the excavated finds in a contemporary didactic way and thus make them “speak”.

Fundamental redesign

The archaeological collection, which includes finds from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and thus covers a period from around 5500 to 50 BC, is located in an area of 250 square meters in the historic cellar of a former Dominican monastery. It had been closed since 2011 and has since been completely redesigned. The museum team at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar has designed a trilingual chronological tour that allows visitors to explore various aspects of the history of Alsace such as housing, agriculture, crafts, household and burial rites.

At the beginning, documentation of the Neolithic settlement of Alsace

An overview is provided by a timeline that places the Alsatian finds in a European context. The new presentation in the Unterlinden Museum then focuses on the important excavation sites from Colmar and the surrounding area. To begin with, the Unterlinden Museum documents the Neolithic settlement of Alsace. In the Early Neolithic period, the region was on the border between two cultural groups from the Danube region, the so-called “Bandkeramikers”, named after the ribbon-shaped decorations on their pottery. Large Bandkeramik vessels are the focus of the first display case. Some have eyelets for handles, on which the vessels could be hung out of the reach of rodents.

Highlights of the collection

The precisely perforated sieve from the Iron Age, part of a metal crockery from a tumulus grave near Appenwihr, and a razor imported from northern Italy in the Bronze Age are further highlights of the collection. The amber beads of a necklace from a Late Bronze Age urn, found near Bennwihr in 1867, bear witness to the exchange with the Baltic coast. The arsenic copper from a necklace (4th millennium BC), which was discovered during excavations in the run-up to the construction of a factory near Colmar in 2007, is proven to come from the Austrian Alps. At the end of the Bronze Age, a custom appears that is difficult to interpret: some objects were deliberately broken or deformed before being buried with the deceased. This is often the case with pairs of bracelets, one of which was destroyed and one left intact. The function of other artifacts is a mystery: were they everyday tools or mere objects of prestige?

State tomb of Ensisheim

A highlight of the collection is the ceremonial tomb of Ensisheim. In 1873, high-quality gold jewelry was unearthed in a barrow grave alongside a spearhead. It is therefore a “princely tomb”, of which only around twenty are known in the whole of temperate Europe. These tombs, which can be dated to between 550 and 480 BC, document the extraordinary wealth of the elite of the time, who were often buried with bronze vessels from the Mediterranean, such as the Lady of Vix in Burgundy. A golden neck ring symbolized the prominent position of a Celtic prince in the second half of the 6th century B.C. This torques with embossed decoration from Ensisheim, which consists of an alloy of 98 percent gold, is the symbol of the prince’s secular and spiritual power.

Contemporary presentation: “hands-on stations” in the Unterlinden Museum

One of the main problems with the presentation of archaeological artifacts is that they are often not vivid enough. In Colmar, an attempt has been made to achieve this with watercolor drawings by Jean-Claude Goepp, which serve as background panoramas to illustrate the use of the objects on display in the showcase in people’s everyday lives. The manufacturing techniques of the Bronze and Iron Ages are made tangible in a concrete sense by means of replica objects. The new presentation is a great asset for museum education. Guided tours of the Unterlinden Museum can now be made much more vivid and the urge to touch everything, which is so strongly rooted in all people, can now be indulged uninhibitedly with the numerous replicas. These so-called hands-on stations are designed with well-crafted tools and using authentic materials. They focus on working an arrowhead made of flint, ceramic production, spinning and weaving as well as bronze production and processing. At the station for glass processing, for example, a glass bead necklace can be touched. This gives the visually impaired an impression of the comparably crafted showcase objects. The amazing technical know-how of prehistoric and protohistoric people becomes clear.

Read more in RESTAURO 6/2020.

New Practice, an architecture studio based in Glasgow and London, has refurbished the Kinning Park community center in Glasgow. The result is a multi-purpose space designed to promote community, citizenship, creativity and wellbeing. More about the project here.

New Practice, an architecture studio based in Glasgow and London, has refurbished the Kinning Park community center in Glasgow. The result is a multi-purpose space designed to promote community, citizenship, creativity and wellbeing. More about the project here.

The Kinning Park Complex was originally built in 1910 as an extension to the then Lambhill Street School. Today, the complex is a community center. Since 2017, architecture studio New Practice has been working with the Kinning Park team on a design, which ultimately won an award from the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland. A total of £1.2 million (€1.39 million) was awarded to the project. In March 2019, additional funding was also secured from the Scottish Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

This enabled New Practice to carry out the urgently needed refurbishment and restoration work at the community center. ArmourConstruction Consultants, David Narro Associates and Max Fordham LLP also contributed to this.

Work was due to start in March 2020. However, as the UK entered lockdown instead, the plans had to be changed. New Practice was able to carry out the work between August 2020 and March 2022. The reopening of the Kinning Park Complex took place in April 2022.

The Kinning Park Complex has a long history of education and activism. It has held the neighborhood together for over 100 years. In 1976, the school closed. Its building became the Kinning Park Neighbourhood Centre, organized by Strathclyde City Council to provide residents with an important space for meetings and learning opportunities. However, this facility closed in May 1996.

Mothers who benefited from the childcare and other supporters, including former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, organized a protest and blocked the entrance. The building was occupied around the clock for a total of 55 days. In the end, the city council decided to hand over the center to the neighborhood for a symbolic price of one pound. Resident Helen Kyle and her organization called Scotland in Europe took care of the center from then on. Artists and organizations that rented old classrooms at low cost supported the project and generated income.

Over the last 20 years, the repair and maintenance costs for the building have risen steadily. The heating, electrics and roof all had problems. The neighborhood team was unable to find the resources to make repairs to a rented building. But thanks to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, it was possible to buy the building and then fundraise and send out applications for financial support.

Since 2018, New Practice has been working on designs to prepare the building for the future. This has included an approach that both showcases the history of the old school and offers new ways to make better and more flexible use of the existing spaces. Through an internal reorganization, it is now more possible to combine valuable community events and resources, a café and learning opportunities. Conferences, sports classes and cultural events can now also take place in the Kinning Park Complex.

New Practice’s designs have visually opened up the spiral staircase to make the building safer and the space easier to understand. There is now also more natural light. As many users of the complex have accessibility requirements, a priority was placed on making the building as accessible as possible. This includes a new elevator with a ramp to the entrance. In addition, there is now a new quiet room for praying, breastfeeding and as a sanctuary for anyone who wants peace and quiet. A maximum of three people can use this room at any one time.

This work has succeeded in maintaining or even enhancing the community feel of the Kinning Park Complex. The center continues to serve as a safe place in the neighborhood that provides comfort, education and activism for all.

Read more: The CitizenM hotel in Glasgow also aspires to be a focal point for the community.